There was no great mystery about the top priority of the Port Washington girls’ basketball team entering a North Shore Conference showdown with high-flying Nicolet last Friday.

“We wanted to hold them under 40 points,” Port coach Brian Johnson said. “We thought that if we did that, we would have a chance.”

The host Pirates accomplished their first mission but had trouble finding the hoop themselves in a 38-17 loss to the defending NSC champion Knights.

Slowing the tempo and playing hard-nosed half-court defense, Port stayed within striking distance in the first half and trailed by only 20-13 at intermission. But after falling behind, 28-17, after three quarters, the Pirates failed to score again.MIKAYLA HILTON of Port Washington tried to drive past Nicolet’s Sara Travia during a North Shore Conference game last Friday. Photo by Sam Arendt

“Our defensive effort was outstanding, but we were gassed by the fourth quarter,” Johnson said. “Offensively, we had a ton of shots rim out, and we didn’t have much left by the end.”

Only two Nicolet players scored in the double figures — seniors Brittany Fair and Becca Olin with 14 and 12 points, respectively. But their combined effort would have been enough for a comfortable win over the Pirates.

Port’s offensive leader was guard Caity Tydrick with five points. The Pirates finished with just seven field goals and were 3-for-10 at the free-throw line.

Despite the loss and late scoring drought, Johnson was pleased with the determination shown by his team in its fourth straight loss.

“For the first time, we made Nicolet beat us by playing our game, not theirs,” he said. “I was very proud of that kind of effort, which gives us something to build on.”

Nicolet improved its conference record to 3-0, good for a share of first place with Grafton. Port fell to 0-3 in NSC play and 2-4 overall.

Homestead 50, Port Washington 33

The Pirates fell behind early and never recovered in a sluggish conference road loss Dec. 13.

After grabbing a 15-8 lead in the first quarter, Homestead built the margin to 29-19 by halftime and maintained a 10-point edge after three periods.

Center Nicole Ziehm scored a game-high 16 points for Port, but none of her teammates had more than six.

Hannah Young had 13 points to lead the Highlanders, who also got eight apiece from Karley Marotta and Lauren LaDell.

This week, the Pirates faced Whitefish Bay on Tuesday and will host Howards Grove in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game Thursday.

“We did a good job of keeping them in front of us. We wanted to take away their penetration, and we did that.”

Lutheran averaged 97.5 points per game in wins over two overmatched nonconference foes to open the season. However, the Red Knights never got their fast-break offense in gear against Port, which slowed the tempo, controlled the interior and harassed their outside shooters.

The Pirates, who improved to 5-1 overall, were unable to pull away comfortably but never trailed after the first quarter. They took a 23-17 lead into halftime and stretched the margin to as many as nine points in the third period before holding off a late Lutheran charge.

Guard Joey Burbach scored eight of his team-high 15 points in the second quarter, which ended with an 8-2 Port run.

Burbach hit a pair of free throws to give the Pirates their biggest lead, 36-27, with two minutes left in the third period. Remarkably, Lutheran failed to make a free throw in the first three quarter, missing their only two attempts.

Aided by three Port turnovers early in the final period, the Red Knights pulled within 45-43 on a basket by Will Taylor with 57 seconds to play.

But the Pirates regained their poise and hit six straight free throws, four by guard Sawyer Mosley, in the remaining time.

By contrast, the Red Knights got to the line six times in the fourth quarter but missed half their attempts.

“We knew that (Lutheran) wanted to pick up the tempo and push the ball,” Bunyan said. “They have some good athletes, and we had to try and take that part of their game away.”

Erik Hulman, a senior forward, scored a game-high 17 points for Lutheran, which also got 13 from Taylor, a senior guard. However, none of their teammates had more than four points.

One of the defensive focal points for Port, which was charged with just eight fouls, was holding high-scoring Mike Bahr in check. The senior finished with only three points, on a basket in the fourth quarter.

Balanced scoring continued to be a weapon for the Pirates, who won their third straight game. Besides Burbach’s effort, they got 12 points from Mosley and eight apiece from front-line players Kyle Rismeyer and Zach Hauser.

Port began last week with a 50-42 nonconference win over Ozaukee on Dec. 6 (see related story).

This week, the Pirates continued NSC play against Homestead on Tuesday and will face Nicolet on the road Friday. On Dec. 20, Port will host Whitefish Bay.

Early in last Friday’s North Shore Conference relays, the Grafton boys’ swimming and diving team found itself hanging tough with heavy favorites.

The host Black Hawks even led the field after five events in the annual meet, which is typically dominated by powers such as Cedarburg, Homestead and Whitefish Bay.

Although Grafton’s early surge — which included two first-place finishes — faded, it didn’t diminish a strong overall effort.PORT WASHINGTON’S Phil Mehre raced to first place in the 100-yard butterfly during a meet against Homestead last week. Photo by Sam Arendt

“It was a good meet for us. I saw some nice improvements from swimmers,” said Hawks coach Mark Minz, whose squad ended up fifth in the seven-team competition.

“We had some disqualifications and scratches that hurt us, but the kids who swam did very well.”

Cedarburg dominated the meet with a first-place score of 83 points, well ahead of runner-up Bay, which had 58.

Homestead was third with 56 points, followed by Nicolet (51), Grafton (47), Port Washington (43) and Milwaukee Lutheran (16).